ASIS events happening across Canada this spring

Founded in 1955, ASIS International is a global community of security practitioners, each of whom has a role in the protection of assets: people, property and/or information.

Represented in Canada by 11 chapters serving more than 2,000 individual members, there are over 100 Canadian volunteers who work to bring members and non-members alike access to local education and networking, and provide a vital connection to programs offered by ASIS International globally.

Each chapter runs their own calendar of events throughout the year – from lunch meetings to golf tournaments – and most have sub-committees dedicated to initiatives like Certification, Women in Security and NextGen.

You do not need to be an ASIS member to attend a chapter event, and many are hosting free virtual events, so please visit your local chapter’s website and see if there is an event that might appeal to you.

For those ASIS members in Quebec, you may have noticed that we have merged the Montreal and Quebec City chapters into the new Province de Québec Chapter! This will allow for more consistent representation with provincial government, and greater advocacy for French-language materials within ASIS.

Some notable ASIS events coming up this spring include:

• April 9 – ASIS Province de Québec Chapter, Breakfast Meeting (www.asisquebec.com): Site tour at Radio-Canada.
• April 18 – ASIS Manitoba, Monthly Meeting (www.asiswinnipeg.ca): Presentation by the Manitoba Conservation Officer Service.
• April 18 – ASIS Southwestern Ontario, Monthly Meeting (www.asisswo.org): Details to be announced.
• April 24 – ASIS Toronto Chapter, Best Practices Seminar (www.asistoronto.org): A much-anticipated annual event with a full-day of learning; this year’s theme is Mitigation, Protection and Recovery.
• April 25 – ASIS Province de Québec Chapter, Soirée de la Relève (www.asisquebec.com): A wine and cheese event with the graduates of the University of Montreal’s Bachelor Degree in Security and Police Studies.

Of course, the crown jewel of ASIS Canada is Canada Night, a networking event hosted on the eve of the GSX conference each year in the United States.

This year, Canada Night will be on Sunday, Sept. 22 in Orlando, Fla. Visit the ASIS Canada website for more information and to get in touch about sponsoring Canada Night 2024!

And lastly, if you are an ASIS member and you have not taken advantage of the many new programs and initiatives offered by ASIS, I encourage you to login using your member credentials at www.asisonline.org.

You’ll find several new certificate programs on topics like ESRM and Facility Security Design, as well as free access (for members) to over a dozen standards and guidelines.

You can also find information on the four ASIS certifications (APP, CPP, PCI and PSP) and connect with your peers globally in the subject matter communities on ASIS Connects.

I hope to see you at a future ASIS event in Canada, or at this year’s Canada Night in Orlando!

Jason Caissie is the Chapters Committee Representative, Group 6, ASIS International.